Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
by MCCrocker
Summary: One man pitted against the impossible task - Sleep. Follow Remus as he seems not to be able to sleep Third place for Gail Welin's Sleeping Habits challenge on HPFF
There was a love and hate relationship that had formed between Remus and his bed. There were times when he loved it and was ever so grateful for it. Those times were particularly after the full moon when he longed to do nothing more than sleep. It was in those times that he loved his bed as it welcomed him in to its comforting embrace, helping to gently carry him away from the pain that every waking moment after the lunar cycle caused him. Now, however, was not after the moon. Now he was faced with the nights leading up to the moon and his bed, instead of being that gentle and loving friend, became more and more the enemy.

It was an endless cycle, but the emotions involved with trying to get sleep that hardly ever came was just as real and fresh as the first time he experienced the issue. Casting his bed a reproachful look, Remus dutifully dressed out of his robes into his sleep clothes, eyes hardly drifting from his opponent through this process. Once dressed, he took his toothbrush to the bathroom to brush his teeth. During this time while the enemy was out of sight, he would mentally recite a mantra to himself about how the bed wasn't the problem and that if he tried hard enough, he could and would sleep. All of it was a lie, but still he tried the power of positive thinking.

Taking extra time and care with his teeth, Remus delayed the inevitable showdown between he and his nemesis. Eventually the point reached where Remus' teeth could not get much cleaner, and he was force to face facts and rinse his toothbrush before making the trudge toward his bed once more. He gave it another reproachful glare.

"You know it won't bite you, Moony," remarked James, lounging on his bed, snatching the snitch that he seemed not to have been paying attention to. He caught it just before it went out of reach, eliciting a soft 'oh' from Peter, who was already burrowed under his covers but apparently watching.

Remus shook his head before turning back the covers. With a heavy sigh he crawled into bed and drew the curtains to find himself laying there stalk still, staring at the canopy above him. He could hear the steady fluttering of the snitch wings. Most people in his shoes wouldn't hear it but he could; it was soft and soothing, maybe enough to cause him to sleep. He forced his eyes closed as he lay there focusing on the steady rhythm.

Eventually the soft 'ohs' of Peter stopped and were replaced with the deep steady breathing of slumber and James grew bored of the snitch, breathing out a soft sigh before Remus could hear him taking off his glasses, moving under his covers and causing the bed curtains to close.

Silence pervaded the room save for the slow inhale and exhale of both of his dorm mates. Sirius was out, presumably with a girl, and he was the only one that Remus presently did not hate. Sirius was awake like he was and thus could be forgiven; James and Peter on the other hand were asleep and he hated them for it. He let out a frustrated sigh and permitted himself to roll over onto his side and see if maybe that would help. Deep down Remus knew the truth, still he had to try.

It was shortly after rolling over that Sirius came into the room, stumbling a bit and smelling of firewhisky. He had clearly either gotten into the hidden stash or snuck down to Hogsmede. Remus had noticed that Sirius smelled more and more of whiskey as of late. He hid it well, but it was hard to fool the nose of a werewolf. All the same, Remus stayed perfectly still seeking the sleep he knew was never coming. Now was not the time to talk to Sirius about his drinking. He himself was already supposed to be asleep and Sirius was drunk.

Remus lay there in the dark listening to his friend stumble through his stupor to get ready for bed. He kept telling himself not to say anything and just pretend to sleep. He followed his own advice and heard as Sirius, once in bed, quickly drifted off to sleep. One of the advantages of alcohol was it being a depressant and could aid one to sleep. Remus' metabolism, however, did not readily allow for it. He could get drunk, but it took copious amounts so using it as a sleep aid was certainly out of the question. Of course, alcohol wasn't the only sleep aid out there but each came with their own set of problems such as addiction, waning effect among other problems.

Once Sirius' breathing became even, indicative of sleep, Remus was done pretending. He had lain in bed for several hours and not a wink of sleep came to him. He had reached the point of exasperation and giving up. This was for the doxies. He let out a sigh as he got up out of bed and moved in the dark to grab his book. He then padded down to the common room, which was devoid of people. He settled into a comfortable armchair to spend another night whiling away the hours reading. Tonight was the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

It was not till the wee hours that Remus finally found himself tired enough to possibly be able to sleep. Closing his book, he stole away to his bed to catch the precious few hours of slumber he could before the start of classes. His head had barely hit his pillow when the stirrings of the new day began waking him up once more.

"Didn't sleep again?" asked James, looking at his beleaguered friend.

Remus shook his head before shuffling to start yet another long day of classes on practically no rest. It wasn't until after classes that Remus finally found the rest he so desperately craved. There he was in the library, face planted in a book and out to the world, leaving his three friends to debate as to who would awaken their slumbering friend as an old adage firmly applied to Remus.

Let sleeping dogs lie.


End file.
